Six people in high-visibility jackets and face-masks stand socially distanced in front of beach huts in BrightlingseaOver the last six months, the Tendring District Council COVID-19 Community Ambassadors have been working with our community to improve our safety in the pandemic. Their purpose is to engage, educate and escalate in the roadmap out of lockdown.

Their job includes visiting businesses, seafronts and other potentially busy areas, sometimes jointly with Essex Police. They have been increasing awareness of the availability of coronavirus testing and engaging with discussions on vaccines. They also use the council social media pages to engage with an average of 13,000 people per post. To date they have visited more than 1,300 businesses and engaged with over 500 potential Covid-19 regulation breaches.


  • During the lockdown in January to March, the ambassadors worked with essential retail, visited high-footfall areas and responded to reports of rule breaches.
  • In March, lockdown began to ease in Step 1 of the “Roadmap out of Lockdown”. Schools and outdoor activities reopened whilst the rule of 6 was reintroduced. The Ambassadors worked with takeaways, convenience stores and supermarkets to improve social distancing measures, use of signs and face masks.
  • On 12 April, Step 2 of the roadmap began. Indoor leisure and retail re-opened. The Ambassadors visited close contact services including hairdressers, barber shops and nail salons, as well as outdoor hospitality and leisure. In all cases, the Ambassadors listened to the procedures put in place and offered support and guidance for improvement where needed.

From 17 May, Step 3 was introduced. There will be more social contact, indoor hospitality and entertainment have opened and overnight travel is further increased.  In the coming weeks the ambassadors will focus on offering the support and guidance to the newly opened venues so that they are confident that they are operating in a Covid-secure way.

 

If you would like further Covid-19 guidance please email tendringambassadors@tendringdc.gov.uk and see our web page www.tendringdc.gov.uk/coronavirus.

For testing advice please see Regular rapid coronavirus (COVID-19) tests if you do not have symptoms - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

For information about current rules and restrictions please see COVID-19 Response - Spring 2021 (Summary) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)


Woman in high-visibility jacket with "Ambassador" written on back, walks along lit shop fronts and takeaways at night

Male in hi-vis jacket and facemask is talking to a kiosk owner at the seafront across the counter. He is accompanied by a police community support officer wearing a face-mask.